Attorney says Grapevine murder suspect’s statements were ‘coerced’

Murder suspect, victim shown in Denton surveillance videos

Videos obtained by WFAA show murder victim Jacqueline Vandagriff with suspected killer Charles Dean Bryant at a bar in Denton on Sept. 13, the last night she was seen alive.
By

Up Next

Videos obtained by WFAA show murder victim Jacqueline Vandagriff with suspected killer Charles Dean Bryant at a bar in Denton on Sept. 13, the last night she was seen alive.
By

FORT WORTH

The attorney for Charles Bryant, the man accused of killing and dismembering a Texas Woman’s University student last month, says in a court document filed Monday that Bryant’s statements to police last month were “coerced and enticed.”

Attorney Glynis McGinty filed a motion to suppress Bryant’s statements, writing that Bryant was “substantially deprived of freedom” by police and that his statements were “involuntary.” Police have not revealed what Bryant told them.

The Fort Worth man, 30, faces a capital murder charge in the death of Jacqueline Vandagriff, 24.

Vandagriff, of Frisco, was found burned and dismembered in a blue kiddie pool at a park near Lake Grapevine on the morning of Sept. 14.

Explore where you live.

Police learned that Vandagriff and Bryant were seen together at two Denton bars the night before, when they likely met for the first time, according to the arrest warrant affidavit for Bryant. Vandagriff’s cellphone was also traced to Bryant’s home near Haslet, and her purse was found in Bryant’s trash, the affidavit said.

In Monday’s motion, McGinty also argued that Bryant was “deprived of right to counsel” and that his statements were “tainted by the illegal and unlawful detention arrest” in violation of his constitutional rights.

McGinty filed several other motions Monday, including one requesting a list of prosecution witnesses and one seeking additional discovery.

On Friday, McGinty filed a motion to hire a private investigator to work on Bryant’s defense.